CORVALLIS -- Darrell Songy made sure to play it cool in Mike Riley's office.

The freshman linebacker from New Orleans is a Division-I athlete, thank you very much, and that means that when he's in the head coach's office, he's going to take everything in stride. Even if it's big, life-changing news, like hearing that he's going to play right away and skip redshirting.

But once he gets out of Riley's office and has a chance to call mom, he'll let loose.

"As soon as I walked out the room I went into the bathroom and called my mom," said Songy, who admitted there were a few fist pumps. "Then I had to listen to her excitement for about 15 minutes. It took me about an hour to call everyone -- I definitely got a lot of celebrations."

There was no quarterback news (again) on Monday, but Riley did announce a mostly finalized non-redshirt list: Songy, safety Brandon Arnold and cornerback Dashon Hunt are expected to play in 2013. Offensive lineman Sean Harlow and receiver Victor Bolden are "on the bubble." Riley could decide by the end of fall camp if he wants to play them, or he could carry the redshirt into the season until they're needed.

Bolden has been impressive in camp, but the Beavers have quite a few receivers already. Offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh said last week that whether or not he officially redshirts, Harlow will have to be ready to go at a moment's notice, because the Beavers' are pretty thin at the tackle position.

"I tell our coaches, 'If we're going to play a true freshman, then he has to PLAY,'" Riley said. "We're not going to have him play two plays a game and 20-some plays the whole season and that's it. We never want to go there.

"Most guys know (if they're not going to redshirt). I met with every guy on Saturday afternoon, and nobody was surprised."

They were a little excited though. Ditto for their parents.

Last year Riley played five true freshmen, led by starting center Isaac Seumalo (offensive linemen Josh Mitchell and Gavin Andrews, linebacker Joel Skotte and tight end Caleb Smith were the others). Like most coaches, Riley prefers to redshirt freshmen but if they prove they need to be on the field or are needed for depth, that plan goes out the window.

Coaches love Arnold, a probable free safety from Los Angeles who has a college-ready frame at 5-foot-11 and 207 pounds. Arnold has developed a big brother-type relationship with starting free safety Ryan Murphy, which has accelerated his development.

Riley says Songy's quick ascension up the depth chart doesn't have anything to do with strongside linebacker D.J. Alexander getting hurt last week -- Alexander sat out again Monday -- but his absence will mean more playing time for someone.

"With D.J. out, that's more of a drive than a reason for me to be nervous," Songy said. "Of course I'm going to be nervous at first, but I don't want to disrespect (him), I want to show off for him, make sure he knows I kept the team going, did my part, while he's gone."

Hunt checks in at just 5-foot-8 but he's 189 pounds, and knew when he started playing second string nickel that he was going to push for playing time. He's swimming in information under the tutelage of veteran secondary coach Rod Perry -- it's a good problem to have, Hunt says -- but he's ready to contribute.

"Once I got involved with Oregon State, I started learning more about (Jordan) Poyer," Hunt said in reference to the Beavers' All-American cornerback in 2012, a former walk-on from Astoria, Ore., who became one of the best defensive players in program history. "The more I found out about him, the more I felt like following in those footsteps -- that's one of my goals."

Hunt is off to a good start: Poyer also played as a true freshman.

Riley will wait to make decisions on Bolden and Harlow.

Notes: Alexander (knee), Seumalo (knee) and tight end Will Hopkins (toe) sat out Monday and cornerback Malcolm Marable (hamstring) was back in pads, but limited in his participation … Jalen Grimble, a defensive lineman who is transferring to OSU and will be eligible in 2014, was at practice … Riley said the Beavers started game prep for Eastern Washington on Monday, and that his goal is to go 30 minutes each of special teams, individual work, interaction and game prep.